In order to better serve the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, and facilitate communication and cooperation between Hunan and African countries, a direct flight connecting Changsha and Nairobi, capital cities of Hunan and Kenya, will be launched on June 12, 2019. 

 

A press conference was held in Changsha on May 21. It reveals that this is Hunan’s first regular direct flight towards Africa, which will be operated by the Southern Airlines. 

 

The flight, CZ6043/CZ6044, will be operated every Wednesday and Sunday by Airbus A330. A one-way trip will take 11.5 hours, and a round trip about 24 hours. The flight CZ 6043 departs from Changsha at 0:50, and arrive in Nairobi at 7:30 local time; and, CZ6044 departs from Nairobi at 12:50, and arrive in Changsha at 6:05 Beijing time.  

 

Kenya, a relatively economically developed country in sub-Sahara Africa, is a key fulcrum of the national “Belt and Road” Initiative. Its capital city, Nairobi, is the economic and media center of East Africa. It is where the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) headquarters are based. It is the most developed, fashionable, and modernized city in Africa.

 

The Changsha-Nairobi flights will not only connect the two cities, but also the Yangtze River Economic Belt and Africa. Passengers can transfer to Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Dar-es-Salaam, Lusaka, Lagos, and other African major cities.   

 

The China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo will be held in Hunan every two years. The first session will be held between June 27 and 29 this year. The opening of the Changsha-Nairobi direct flight in advance of the expo will facilitate China-Africa economic and trade cooperation in the new era, and push Hunan-Africa cooperation to a new height.